Mooney M20C N6574U

Summary

On 2 June 2005 at about 06:06 local time, a Mooney M20C registered N6574U, operated by Yian Chang, was involved in an accident near Van Nuys, California, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

2 June 2005 at 06:06

Classification

Accident

Location

Van Nuys, California, United States

Nearest airport

Van Nuys (KVNY)

Coordinates

34.2805, -118.6109

Aircraft

Mooney M20C

Registration

N6574U

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Yian Chang

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Santa Ana → Van Nuys

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

LAX05FA193

1 person died.

The pilot's decision to attempt flight into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in the pilot's loss of aircraft control due to spatial disorientation. Factors in the accident were haze and low ceilings, the night lighting condition, an undetermined attitude gyro problem, and the pilot's lack of qualification/experience for flight in instrument conditions.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane departed from controlled flight during a missed approach and collided with hilly terrain. The non-instrument rated private pilot departed, at night, to an airport located about 40 miles to the north. While en route, the pilot contacted the terminal radar approach control (TRACON) specialist on duty and was subsequently advised that weather conditions were IFR at the pilot's intended destination airport. The pilot responded by saying he was going to try to find a VFR route. A review of archived radar data revealed that the accident airplane flew to various locations around the accident airport at altitudes above the underlying overcast cloud layer. The pilot then contacted the TRACON specialist and requested the ILS runway 16R approach at the accident airport. A review of air-to-ground communications tapes, transcripts, and archived radar data, revealed that the accident pilot was unable to intercept the glide slope and localizer for the ILS approach to runway 16R, or to maintain an assigned altitude or heading. Examination of the radar data for the pilot's attempted ILS approach showed that the airplane crossed the final approach course, 161 degrees, from the west between the initial approach fix and the outer marker. The airplane's track overshot the final approach course to the east and then corrected back so that it was on course at the outer marker. The track then deviated to the east again and corrected back to the final approach course, which was then followed by a 90-degree turn away from the final approach course to the west. The track proceeded westerly for 27 seconds, climbing from 2,100 to 2,500 feet and then down to 2,400 feet. The track turned south for 32 seconds, climbing from 2,400 feet to 3,000 feet. The last leg of the track proceeded northwesterly for the final 12 seconds, and the altitude descended from 3,000 feet to 2,600 feet, to 2,400 feet, to the accident elevation at 1,253 feet. Impact forces destroyed the airplane. According to the airplane's owner, the attitude gyro indicated a 10-degree left angle of bank when the airplane was in level flight. No preaccident mechanical anomalies were discovered during the investigation. At the time of the accident the reported weather was 1,400 feet overcast, with tops estimated at 3,000 feet. The weather forecast products available at the time of the pilot's departure predicted marginal VFR to IFR conditions at the destination, with ceilings occasionally below 1,000 feet and visibilities below 3 miles.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.